Gantry



L. C. OERTLE Septa 14, 1948.

GANTRY Filed NOV. l0, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept 14, 194s. f L. c. QERTLE 2,449,501

GANTRY Filed Nov. 1Q, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 14, 1948 Lawrence C. Oertle, Milwaukee,- Wis., assigner to` La Ray Engineering and Equipment `Co.,. I'r i;1

vlliilwaukee'a Wis., acorporationof Wisconsin Application: November 10, I945,.`S'erial=No..62Z;885

Y 3 Claims. Y 14 This invention relates toV a gantry and more `warrticularly to a demountable and .portable sentir- One object of the `present invention is to' provide agantxfy which can bestored in arminimum amount of space.

Another object is to provide a gantry which can be transported readily.

A further object is to provide a gantry in which the size of the horizontal support can be varied.

A further object is to provide a gantry which will be strong and rigid.

A further object is to provide a gantry which can be manufactured economically.

A still further object is to provide a gantry which will be economical to ship.

Other objects Iwill become apparent upon considering the following specification, which when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrate a preferred form of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side View showing a gantry including two towers embodying the invention, the ngure showing the front of one tower and the rear of the other;

Fig. 2 is a slightly enlarged view of the side of the gantry support shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end view of one of the gantry supports;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged end View of the top of the gantry; and

Fig. 5 is a cross-section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawings, the gantry comprises, in general, a pair of Vertical towers IIl-I I) connected at their upper ends by a horizontal beam I2. The beam I2 may carry a hoist I4 of conventional design.

Each of the towers comprises two frames, one of which is formed from a pair of posts I6--I'l spaced from each other at the lower ends, and tapered toward each other at their upper ends. The upper ends of the posts I6 and I'l are connected together by a horizontal base plate 2U. Rungs 22 join the posts I 6 and I'I to maintain them properly spaced and to form a ladder.

The lower ends of the posts I6 and I1 are provided with parallel vertical extensions 24-25, which receive the pivot shanks of casters 2'I. v

The second frame is formed of two posts 29-30 (Fig. 1) spaced from each other at the bottom and tapered toward the upper ends of the posts. The posts 29 and 3i) are joined at their upper ends by a horizontal base plate 32,

2 j; whichrabuts the base; plate 2l)-A ci the rst frame. 'Ehe-,central and lower portions of the `posts 29 .andnare connected by rungs 34 andy 35;, respeef tively, whichhold` the posts in proper spaced relationship. i i

The lower ends ci the-posten and are .prof vided with vertical; tubular exten-sions 35 andtzl'. respectively, which receive the pivot Shanks of casters 21.

The two frames are set at the proper angle to each other and connected together at their up-` per ends by a connector plate 40 which is fastened to the base plates 20 and 32 by bolts 42.

The central and lower portions of the frames are joined to each other by tie rods -46 respectively. The tie rods 45 and 46 are tubular and are received over alined horizontal tubular projections 48 formed on the posts I6, II, 29 and 30.

Bolts 49 pass through both the tie rods 45 and 46 and the projections 48 to form the tower into a rigid structure.

The beam I2 is supported between the towers Il), and is retained on each of the connector plates 40 by a pair of clamps 5Il-50.

Each of the clamps comprises a plate 52 having a thickness equal to the outer portion of the flange 53 of the I-beam I2. A second, narrower plate 55 is welded on the inner edge of the plate 52 and projects over the edge of the flange 53 to hold the beam in place. Each clamp has a pair of slots 56-56, extending transversely of the beam I2, with screws 58 passing through the slots 56 and engaging in threaded holes in the plate 40.

The clamps are thus adjustable for `any size I-beam.

The hoist I4 is mounted on the beam l2 to raise loads by the gantry.

Operation In operation, the towers I0 are assembled with the .tie rods 45 and 4B holding the two halves of the towers assembled.

With the towers in ver-tical position workers may then climb the ladder 22 and raise the beam I2 in-to place. The beam may be clamped on the towers by means of the clamps 50 with the hoist I4 in place. The gantry is then ready for use and may be moved to working position on the #casters 21.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herein shown and described is to be taken merely as a .preferred example thereof, and thaty of parts maybe made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Tha-t which is claimed as new and is desired to be secured by letters Patent is.:

1. A gantry comprising a pair of towers, and a Ibeam supported on said towers,1 eachtcwer comprising a pair of integr-a1 frames', one' offsaid frames comprising a pair of diverging legs, and a plurality of spaced rungs integrally connected at their opposite ends to said diverging legs to form a ladder, a projection on each of said frames, and a tie rod removably engageable with said projections to form the tower into ta unitary structure.V

2. A gantry tower of the character described comprising a. first end frame,v a second end frame joined to said first end frame adjacent thev top ithereof and diverging ydownwardly therefrom, said first end frame comprising, a pair of diverging legs,a plurality of spaced rungs integrally connected at their opposite ends to the two diverging legs to form a ladder and a base plate integrally joining the legs at the'upper ends thereof adjacent their intersection, said second end frame comprising a pair of diverging legs, a brace integrally joined between Ithev diverging ends of the last named legs to` retain the ends properly spa-ced,

Number REFERENCES CITED ',Thevfollowing references are of recordV in the le vof this patent:

STATES PATENTS Name Date 797,362 Landsman Aug. 15, 1905 880,525 Hazzard Mar. 3, 1903 1,273,143 Bryan July 23, 1918 2,272,957 Walp Feb. 10,1942 2,305,563 Uecker et al Dec. 15', 1942 2,343,014 Langan Feb, 29, 1944 2,347,745 McKinney May 2, y1944 

